Surgical belt



E. c. DUFF SURGICAL BELT Filed Nov.

Aug. 6, 1935.

4, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY Aug. 6, 1935. E. c. DUFF SURGICAL BELT Filed Nov 4, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGB.

INVENTO BY vi ATTORN EY Patented Aug. 6, 1935 PATENT OFFICE SURGICAL BELT Ewen Dufl", New York, N. Y., assignor to Kops Brothers, Inc., New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application November 4, 1933, Serial No. 696,619

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in surgical belts intended to provide confinement and support for portions of the body particularly in the region of the abdomen. The present improvements are of special utility in connection with cases involving the dropping of the stomach from its normal position, commonly designated ptosis. It has been found in such cases that the wearing of a belt to support the abdomen normally becomes uncomfortable due to the tendency of the belt to rub and produce sore spots at the tops of the hip bones. The hip bones protrude and become more or less exposed and unprotected when the stomach drops and for this reason any friction produced by the movements of the body with relation to a supporting belt gives rise very quickly to an uncomfortable condition at these points.

It has been a primary object of the present invention to produce a belt, to be worn by persons suffering from ptosis, of such character that no slippage will occur relative to the body over the hip bones in the course of exercise or other movements of the body and hence no friction will result to produce soreness. Toward this end the invention contemplates the provision, in an abdomen supporting belt, of a section of elastic material capable of stretching simultaneously in all directions in an area directly overlying each of the hip bones. By the provision of the two-way stretch elastic sections at the sides of the belt there is produced a desirable confining tension that is evenly distributed over a large area. In this way the support and confinement of the abdomen are made possible without placing an excessive localized pressure upon any portion of the body. There is also provided in accordance with the preferred form of the invention a non-elastic, stretch-limiting band over each of the elastic sections, these bands being so formed and arranged as' not to lie directly over the hip bones.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from a detailed description of an illustrative form of belt embodying the invention which will now be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a view of the outer side of the belt extended and laid flat. j

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the belt, taken 50 from the front, with the free ends of the belt connected together, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view looking down along the line 3--3 of Figure 2 upon the upper edge of the front portion of the belt.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated a belt having a rear section It! adapted to extend completely across the back of the wearer from a point at or slightly above the waistline to a point below the buttocks. This section is preferably formed of a non-elastic material of any suitable texture. For the purpose of reinforcing the bottom of the back section, a portion of the material is folded over, as indicated at I l in Figure 2, the upper edge [2 of this portion suitably having the contour indicated. Adjacent each of the side edges of the back section there is preferabl provided a pair of pockets l3 for the reception of suitable stays. These stays preferably terminate some distance above the lower edge of the section so as not to interfere with the free bending of the lower portion adjacent the sides of the belt, Intermediate the side edges of the back section additional pockets [4 may be provided for the reception of additional stays.

, To the lefthand edge of the back section, as viewed in Figure 1, there is attached by suitable stitching a section 55 formed of what may be termed two-way stretch or two-way elastic material. This material is capable of stretching simultaneously in all directions. The elastic strands are so arranged that the material is capable of stretching both longitudinally and transversely at the same time. It may be of either knit or woven construction and preferably is of such character that it will stretch more readily or easily longitudinally, or up and down, in the belt than transversely or around the body of the wearer. Thus longitudinal stretch may be made quite free and easy while a firm tension will be provided around the body. By the provision of a two-way stretch elastic material of this character at the side of the garment in the section over-lying the hip bone, the tendency of any slippage between the body and the belt at this point is completely eliminated. Inasmuch as the elastic material is capable of yielding in all directions, any change in the dimension of the body at this point in the course of any form of exertion will be followed by a corresponding change in the dimension of this two-Way elastic section. The material of this section will, therefore, remain upon the body in a substantially fixed relation and will partake of all of the movements of the body.

Another advantage of the two-way stretch material in this section of the belt is that it will prevent the application of an excessive localized pressure at any point. The pressure created by the transverse tensioning of the elastic section in the application of the belt to the body is distributed more uniformly over a large area. For

example, assuming that the belt is worn by a person suffering from ptosis, a protruding point will normally be produced adjacent the top of the hip bone. It will be apparent that an ordinary one-way elastic member stretched across this high point would create an uncomfortable pressure upon the hip bone. This, accompanied by the slippage of one-way elastic material relative to the hip bone during movements of the body very quickly tends to produce a sore spot. Such a condition does not arise, however, when a section of two-way stretch elastic material is employed in the portion of the belt overlying the hip bone. The protrusion of the top of the hip bone will not produce an excessive, localizedpressure since the tension of the elastic will be distributed-both vertically and transversely. fhis, coupled with the fact that slippage is eliminated between the body and the two-way elastic section insures the greatest possible comfort in the wearing of the improved belt. The lower edge it of the section it is preferably inclined upwardlyat an angle of substantially 45 from its point of connection with the section and the lower corner of the back section may conveniently be out at a corresponding angle as shown.

At the opposite side of the back section there is attached by suitable stitching a section ll of two-way elastic material of the same character and form as the section is. Section ll similarly 113, an upwardly inclined lower edge t the free or forward end of the section l5 there secured a strip ii of non-elastic material pro? vided with a series of fastening elements 26, such aseyelets for the reception of hooks. Obviously, other forms of fastening means might be provided in lieu of the eyelets. The free or forward edge of the section it has secured thereto the edge of an abdominal support. his support may conveniently be formed in two sections, 22, arranged to be adjustably connectedby means of lacing The abdominal support is preferably of the fo m indicated in the drawings and is of non-elastic material provided with stays 2:; adjacent the rows of eyelets for the lacing and stays adjacent the outer edges of the support. The free or righthand edge of the abdominal support, as shown in Figure 1, may conveniently be pro? vided with fastening elements it, such as hooks, complementary to the fastening elements 26. In order to close the gap between the sectionsZl and 22 in the event that these are separated to some extent, and for the purpose of limiting the ex.- tent to which these parts may be separated, a loop 27 of non-elastic material and of suitable length is secured along one edge to the section it and along the other edge to the section 22. l The structure above described provides a belt adapted to completely encircle the body and arranged to be detachably connected at one side. Furthermore the lacing at the front enables it to be readily adjusted to tighten ,cr loosen the belt and to adapt it to different figures.

In order to limit the stretch of the elastic sections l5 and il in a transverse direction, a band or section 28, of non-elastic material is superim posed upon the lower portions of each of these sections. These nonrelastic bands or sections are preferably provided with a long edge at the rear where they are joined to the side edges of the belt. In any event the upper edges 29 should be so formed to pass below the high points of the {bones so that no portion of the non-elastic bands will directly overlie the tops of the hip bones. The lower edges 38 of the bands 28 may be curved along any convenient are or may be made straight, if desired.

By forming the bands 28 substantially as shown, so that theyare ined to the back section along aline extendingfr nl a point adjacent bottom tea point more than half way towardthe top of the back section, and by providing similar lorms of connection at the forward edgesof the bands, a desirabletension will be transmitted to the abdominal support and to the lower portion of the backsection. As best shown in Figure 2, thebands are longer than the sections l5 and ll when the latter are contracted. Therefore, the bandsilt will not take eilect until the sections and l l have been stretched to a predetermined extent. As the belt is being worn the entire transverse tension may at time be borne by the elastic sections it and if! alid at all times there is a certain freedom v of stretching of the upper portions of thesesectiens.

Suitable garter attachments iii are preferably provided at appropriate points along the bottom of the belt. Two ,of these may conveniently be placed at opposite corners of the back section and two at substantially the midpoints of the elastic sections l5 and i7.

While one form of garment embodyins the features of the present invention has been disclosed in considerable detail, it will be understood that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the general spirit and scope of the inv'enticnas defined by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

A surgical belt comprising a body encircling member having a back portion, a non-elastic por-- tion extending across the abdomen, side tions formedo-f elastic material capable of stretching simultaneously both longitudinally and trans. versely of thebody, said elastic side no ,7 one ox tending over the bones and preventing slippage of the belt relative to the hip bones and a non-elastic member extending across each of said elastic portions and soured at the ends of said portions to limit the transverse stretch of said portions, said non elastic in lbers having their upper edges passing directly below the hip bone region .of the belt and permitting a pull from substantially the lower half of the back portion to the lower part of said portion over the abdomen.

ENEN C. DUFF. 

